Shelving unit and fastenings therefor

ABSTRACT

LIGHTWEIGHT KNOCKDOWN STEEL SHELVING WITH SECURING MEANS ADAPTED TO HOLD SHELVING AND ENCLOSING PANEL INSERTS TO UPRIGHT SUPPORTS THEREBY FORMING RIGIDIFIED SHELVING UNITS SUCH AS A CREDENZA. THE SECURING MEANS INCLUDES CORNER FASTENING CLIP ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE BOX FLANGES OF A SHELF AT A CUT-OUT CORNER AND CLAMP SAME TO THE INSIDE OF A CORNER SUPPORT HAVING A SLOT TO RECEIVE SIDE PANELS WHICH ARE THEREBY HELD IN PLACE BY THE OPPOSING FORCES OF OPPOSITE CLIPS. PROVISION IS MADE FOR CORNER INSERTS AND INTERLOCKING BEAD OR FINISHING STRIP MEMBERS AT THE JUNCTURE OF SIDE AND TOP PANELS. MEANS ARE PROVIDED TO CONNECT AXIALLY ALIGNED UPRIGHT SUPPORTS SO THAT VARIETY OF HEIGHT OF SHELVING UNITS MAY BE OBTAINED.

Nov. 30, 1971 1. J. FERDINAND ETAL 3,623,435

SHELVING UNIT AND FASTENINGS THEREFOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 31, 1969 INVENTORS:

IRW/IV J. FERDINAND lRW/N R. KULB SH Affarneys Nov. 30; .1971 I. J- FERDINAND ETA!- 3,623,435

SHELVING UNIT AND FASTENINGS THEREFOR 3 Sheets-Shoot 2 Filed Oct. 31, 1969 INVENTORS. IRWIN J. FERD/NA/VD W/N R. KULBER H By f K Attorneys NOV. 30, 1971 L J R W ETAL 3,623,435

SHELVING UNIT AND FASTENINGS THEREFOR Filed Oct. 51, 1969 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 lllllllllqlalllan //V VENTORS. IRWIN J. FERD/N/IND W/N R. KULBERiH By I 44/ Attorneys United States Patent O 3 623 435 SHELVING UNIT ANi) FASTENINGS THEREFOR Irwin J. Ferdinand, Glencoe, and Irwin R. Kulbersh, Morton Grove, IlL, assignors to The Hirsh Company, Skolne, Ill.

Filed Oct. 31, 1969, Ser. No. 873,013 Int. Cl. A47b 3/00, 43/00; F16b 12/00 US. Cl. 108-111 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Lightweight knockdown steel shelving with securing means adapted to hold shelving and enclosing panel inserts to upright supports thereby forming rigidified shelving units such as a credenza. The securing means includes a corner fastening clip adapted to engage the box flanges of a shelf at a cut-out corner and clamp same to the inside of a corner support having a slot to receive side panels which are thereby held in place by the opposing forces of opposite clips. Provision is made for corner inserts and interlocking bead or finishing strip members at the junctures of side and top panels. Means are provided to connect axially aligned upright supports so that variety of height of shelving units may be obtained.

CROSS REFERENCES Ferdinand et al., US. Patent 3,255,722 Ferdinand et al., Application Ser. No. 658,695 Ferdinand et al., Application Ser. No. 668,433

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the art of knockdown steel shelving it is known to use specially designed fixtures and cleats to hold the shelves to the uprights, provide for their adjustability without disturbing adjacent shelves and at the same preserve the rigidity and strength of the shelving units. Criteria of the designs are lightness in weight, rigidity, appearance and ease of assembly and disassembly. Consideration must be given to metal wall thicknesses, shipping weights and adaptability of the design to existing sheet metal forming machinery with least expense in jigs and dies. Provisions of side or back panels in the structure without alteration of the basic design or diminution of rigidity presents a particularly difiicult problem where a number of close-fitting matched parts are used. When elongated uprights are made of assembled sections, they must have the rigidity, strength, pleasing appearance and versatility of an integral post with respect to forces in both a vertical and horizontal direction. Any provision for assembly of the parts intro duces potential areas where rigidity may be lacking or weakness incurred. The instant invention overcomes these and related ditficulties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention provides, in one aspect, cooperating fastening clips, corner securing means and corner inserts fitting and biasing the juncture of the cut-out corner of a box flanged shelf with a slotted upright support member to support and retain a panel member therein. Moreover the invention relates to such parts adapted to be easily assembled and disassembled wherein the fastening means are hidden from ordinary view. In accordance with this invention a pair of box channel uprights having longitudinal slots are provided to engage the opposite edges of an upright panel. The fastening clips at each cut-out corner of the box flanged shelf are held against the inside corner of the shelf channels in such a manner as to engage the panel edges therebetween, while the corner inserts engage upon the ends of the corner channels and are provided with spaced depending tabs which straddle the edge of 3,523,435 Patented Nov. 30, 19:71

the panel on their inside edges and are compressed with the box channel upright at their outside edges. Simultaneously the outerwall of the box flange biases the inner surface of the panel. This forms an easily assembled, rigid, neat appearing enclosed shelving module.

In another aspect of this invention, where a pair of upright supports are connected end to end by means of an open-sided tubular connector, a flexible plastic girdle is provided with a contoured outer wall and an internal interlocking end flange to engage the edges of the slot of the connector and effectively fill the juncture of the spaced ends of the uprights.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown in the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front plan view of an assembled shelf module embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary end view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a corner of the shelf module as viewed along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the underside of the corner as viewed along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the lines 6-6 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a corner assembly of this invention partially cut away to show the structures;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a step in the assembly, namely the insertion of a side panel member;

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the parts forming the juncture of a pair of upright corner supports;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 1010 of FIG. 9 showing the flexible girdle in place on the slotted connector;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary side view of the assembly shown in FIG. 9; and

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 12-12 of FIG. 11.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the invention is shown to comprise two or more box-flanged shelves 10 which are preferably formed from sheet metal and rectangular in shape and are suported at cut-out corners by the slotted box channel supports or uprights 12 attached in a manner to be described. The back panel 13 (FIG. 1) or in the alternative, the side or end panels 14 (FIG. 2) are inserted and secured within the slots 18 (see FIG. 5) of the box channel uprights 12 in their proper orientation. The fishing strips 20 are provided to cover the juncture of the topmost shelf and a side panel and are positioned along the top edges of the panels 14. The ends of the finishing strips are in turn covered by the corner inserts 22.

FIG. 4 shows the means used to attach the shelves 10 to the uprights 12 which comprises a tabbed fastening clip 24 and a suitable securing means such as the screw 26. The clip 24 is substantially the same as the clip duscribed in detail in Pat. 3,255,722 and provides a planar body portion 28 with a narrow web or off-set shoulder portion 30 extending at an obtuse angle from the body portion 28 (see FIG. 7) and forming the planar body portion 32 which is parallel to and extending away from body portion 28. The laterally extending flange portion 34 formed by a right angle bend, serves as the bottom of the clip and extends beyond the sides of the body portion 32 of the clip. The flange 34 has a bent up tab 36, at both extremities disposed at right angles thereto and preferably at an angle of about 45 to the plane of the body portion 32. The tabs 36 have the camrning edges 38 which serve as guides for the tabs when the clip is slipped into position and are notched at 40 on their remote edges to prevent unintentional release. The top portion of the clip 24 is provided with the laterally extending flange 41 extending substantially parallel to the plane of the bottom flange 34. The flange 41 terminates at one end in the upstanding tab 42 and at the other end in a straight edge 44, both preferably disposed at an angle of about 45 to the plane of the body portion 23. Thus the tabs 36 and 42 are coplanar on one side of the clip 24 and the tab 36 and the edge 44 are coplanar with each other at the other side of the clip. The fastening clip 24- is attached (FIG. 4) to the shelf by fitting the tabs 36 on the bottom flange 34 of the clip into the corresponding slots 46 formed in the bottom edge 48 of the box flange 50 of the shelf 10 while placing the top flange 40 and its edge 44 against the side 52 of the box flange of the shelf 10. The fastening clip 24 is attached to the upright 12 by threading the screw 26 through an aperture (not shown) in the planar body portion 28 of the clip 24 and any one of the inside corner perforations 54 in the upright 12.

In FIG. the panel member 14 is shown positioned in the slot 18 of the box channel upright 12. The operation of the present invention avoids the necessity of channeling the panel member 14 to facilitate insertion in the slot 18 of the upright 12. Instead, the panel member is positioned so that its edge 56 abuts against the inside wall 58 of the upright 12 and a force is applied by the upright, as will be shown, in the direction indicated by the arrows 60 (also shown in FIG. 4) holding the panel member 14 in place.

The structures of the finishing strip 20 and the corner insert 22 are best seen in FIG. 7. The finishing strip 20 is preferably formed from metal and comprises the planar top portion 62 which is substantially rectangular in shape and has the depending inner flange 64 and the depending outer flange 66 which preferably has a greater vertical dimension than the inner flange 64 but is longitudinally shorter having its edge 68 set in from the edge 70 of the top portion 62. The outer flange 68 has the horizontal lower portion 72 extending inward and substantially parallel to the top portion 62.

The corner insert 22 is preferably formed of a rigid material, such as metal or plastic, and has the top wall 74, preferably essentially square in shape, with the depending rectangular flanges 76 and 78 at two adjacent sides. Adjacent to the flange 78 is the flange 80 preferably having an outer portion 82, a shorter inner section 84 and a central cut-out 86 to conform to the shape of the box flanged shelf 10. The internal tabs 88 and 90 are preferably essentially parallel to the flange 78 with a vertical size substantially the same as that of the flange 78. The slot 92 is provided between the tabs 88 and 90 to accommodate and fit snugly the panel member 14 when the corner insert 22 is in place.

The steps which would be followed in assembling the preferred embodiment of the shelving unit can be shown by reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. First the fastening clip 24 is attached to the shelf by inserting the tabs 36 of the fastening clip 24 into the corresponding slots 46 on the bottom 48 of the box flange 50 of the shelf 10 while placing the top flange 41 of the clip 24 against the side 52 of the box flange 50 of the shelf 10. The upright 12 is then placed in the cut-out corner 94 of the shelf 10 and the clip 24 is connected to the upright 12 by threading the screw 26 through the aperture (not shown) in the clip 24 and through one of the inside perforations 54- in the upright 12. After each shelf has been loosely attached, the panels 14 are slid into the slots 18 of each pair of uprights 12 as is shown in FIG. 8, the uprights 12 having been oriented so that each of a pair of slots 18 faces the other. The screws 26 are then tightened. This pulls the uprights 12 in the directions indicated by the arrows 60 (FIG. 4) and causes the walls 58 of the uprights 12 to apply inward forces on the edges 56 of the panels 14. Tightening the screws 26 also pushes the box flange 50 against the panel member 14 (FIG. 6) so that the outer wall 96 of the box flange 50 abuts against and biases the inner wall 98 of the panel member 14. These forces serve to hold the panel member 14 in place. Finally, the finishing strips 20 are placed over the panel members 14 and secured by the corner inserts 22 by placing the corner insert tab 88 between the wall 100 of the upright 12 and the panel member 14- while placing the corner insert tab 90 between the wall 102 of the upright 12 and the panel member 14.

Two uprights or support member 12 can be coaxially attached, as is shown in FIGS. 9 and 11, using the slotted connector 104 and the flexible girdle 20. The slotted connector 104 is of a shape similar to and of a crosssection smaller than the upright 12 so that it may be tightly fitted within the upright 12. The edge 106 of the flange 108 on the slotted connector 104 preferably aligns with the edge of the slot 18 on the flange 110 of the upright 12 while the edge 112 on the flange 114 of the slotted connector 104 is preferably aligned with the corner bend 116 on the upright 12 so that the slot 18 is continuous through the juncture. Two screw holes 118 are provided to facilitate securing the connector 104 to the uprights 12 and the rectangular aperture 119 is provided for attachment of the flexible girdle 20. The flexible girdle 20, shown cross-sectionally in FIG. 10 preferably is made of a flexible material such as linear polyethylene and has and outer contour similar to that of the upright support member 12 and an inner contour shaped to fit the slotted connector 104. The edge is flush with the side of the connector 104. The edge 122 aligns the edge of the slot 18 of the upright 12 so that the slot 18 is continuous through the juncture. One of the corner bends, preferably the corner 124, forms an angle which is slightly smaller than the corresponding corner of the connector 104 so that the girdle 20 grips the connector 104. The tab 126 is provided in a location corresponding to the inside edge 127 of the flange 114 on the connector 104 so that when the girdle 20 is in place, the flange 114 of the connector 104 is seated in the slot 128. The flange 123 is positioned to fit into the aperture 119 whenever the girdle is in place and is provided with the rounded end portion 125 which interferes with the aperture 11? in a snap-locking relationship.

Two uprights 12 are connected (FIG. 9) by inserting the slotted connector 104 into opposite ends of the two uprights 12 with their slots 18 aligned until the screw holes 118 of the connector 104 are aligned with the end screw holes 54 of the uprights 12 and securing them with releasable securing means, preferably two screws (not shown). This leaves a gap between the uprights 12 into which is placed the flexible girdle 20, fitted around the connector 104 with the tab 126 of the girdle 20 against the inside edge 127 of the flange 114 of the connector 104 so that the flange 114 is within the slot 128 of the girdle 20 and with the flange 123 fitted into the aperture 119 filling the outer portion of the juncture of the spaced ends of the uprights or support members 12. A crosssectional view of the resulting juncture is shown in FIG. 12.

A set of coaxially attached uprights 12 can serve as a single support member and be used to support the shelves 110 and hold the panel member 14. The shelving unit is assembled as has been described. In this configuration the inner wall 130 of the connector 104 which is opposite the slot 18 of the upright 12 biases the edge 56 of the panel member 14 (see FIG. 5) and contributes to the support of the panel member 14.

Thus a lightweight knockdown steel shelving unit is provided having versatility as to unit height, shelf placement therein, and with side panels or a back panel securely locked therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A shelving unit comprising:

a plurality of shelves arranged in longitudinally aligned and vertically spaced relationship, said shelves having depending flange members at the sides and ends with cut-out corners;

upright tubular support members at the cut-out corners of said shelves, said support members having a slotted wall on one side opposed to the inside of an opposite wall a predetermined pair of said support members having their slotted walls facing each other;

clip means engageable with the inside of said depend ing flanges at each of said cut-out corners of said shelf members;

means securing said clip means to said support members to aflix said shelves between said support members;

a panel member enclosing the space defined between said pair of support members and at least a pair of successive shelf members;

said panel member having its outer edges on each side within said opposite slotted walls of said support members with the inside of said panel member in opposed relationship with the opposing depending flanges of adjacent shelf members; whereby said securing means and clip means bias said support members toward each other and engage the inside of said opposite walls of said support members against the outer edges of said panel member and simultaneously draw the outside of said depending flanges of said successive shelf members into a bearing relationship against the inside of said panel members to form a unified structure.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said panel comprises a side panel.

3. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said panel comprises a back panel.

4. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein strip means are provided to cover the top edge of said panel and be engaged at its ends between said pair of spaced supports and corner insert means are provided adapted to engage within the open top of a support member and secure said strip means thereto at each end of said corner insert means including tab means adapted to press-fit between said panel member and on inside wall of said support means.

5. A device in accordance with claim 1 including a top shelf and a bottom shelf to engage the support members whereby said clip means and releasable securing means draw said shelves to said support members and bias the inside walls of said support members toward each other against the longitudinal outer edges of said panel.

6. A device in accordance with claim 5 whereby said clip means and releasable securing means simultaneously draw the cut-out corners of said shelves to said shelves to said support members and bias said depending flange members of said shelf members against the inside surface of said panel member.

7. A shelving unit comprising:

a plurality of shelves arranged in longitudinally aligned and vertically spaced relationship, said shelves having depending flange members at the sides and ends with cut-out corners;

upright tubular support members at the cut-out corners of said shelves, said support members having a slotted wall on one side opposed to the inside of an opposite wall;

a predetermined pair of said support members being arranged in axially aligned relationship and having their slotted walls facing each other;

clip means engageable with the inside of said depending flanges at each of said out-out corners of said shelf members;

means securing said clip means to said support members to affix said shelves between said support members;

a panel member enclosing the space defined between said pair of support members and at least a pair of successive shelf members;

said panel member having its outer edges on each side within said opposite slotted walls of said support members with the inside of said panel member in opposed relationship with the opposing depending flanges of said shelf members; whereby said securing means and clip means bias said support members toward each other and engage the inside of said opposite walls of said support members against the outer edges of said panel member and simultaneously draw the outside of said depending flanges of said successive shelf members into a bearing relationship against the inside of said panel members to form a unified structure;

a tubular connector means extending in telescoping relationship with each of said aligned support members;

said connector means having a side opening registering on one side with said aligned slots of said support members with the ends of said support members being spaced one from the other upon said connector;

means securing each of said support members to said connector through overlapping walls thereof whereby said aligned support members are unified and said panel member is biased against the inside of said connector; and

girdle means contiguous to said connector means between the spaced ends of said support members, said girdle means having an outer contour conforming generally with the outer contour of said aligned support members and internal flange means in said girdle means to engage said connector means.

8. A device in accordance with claim 7 wherein:

said connector means is provided with an aperture in the side opposite said side opening;

said girdle means is provided with first and second internal flanges, said flanges being oppositely disposed in laterally spaced relationship;

said first internal flange is adapted to engage said side opening of said connector means; and

said second internal flange is adapted to engage and lock with said aperture in said connector means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,732,273 1/1956 Schaflner 312257 SM 2,956,705 10/1960 Clingman 3 l2257 SK 3,132,609 5/1964 Chesley 108-111 X 3,209,709 10/1965 Shoffner 108l08 X 3,255,722 6/1966 Ferdinand et al. 108107 X 3,507,228 4/1970 Ferdinand et a1 l08144 PAUL R. GILLIAM, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 3l2-140, 257 SK 

